I See Things I'd Rather Not
by MoonlitRain015
Summary: Zakki Shihara can see things. His nights are plagued by visions on the edges of his consciousness and his days with fears of what those visions mean. He's about to discover that there really is a whole world of things that go bump in the night. This is AU/OC Bleach fic. It's my first attempt at a fic so feedback is greatly appreciated!
1. Chapter 1: Zakki

The night air cut sharply through the tall, angular young man's hoodie as he stood on a hill overlooking the city. He drew his hood more tightly around his face and turned his back to the gusts that blew over the sprawling stretch of Tokyo. The park was full of silvery moonlight despite the cool autumn wind that swirled around his lean, lithe frame. The white beaches and turquoise ocean of Okinawa were replaced by the desolate alleys and cool rain of Tokyo. The city's sense of loneliness and separation was only deepened by the washed out colours around him. He sighed and turned on his heel, striding silently through a clearing before leaving the park and walking briskly down the sidewalk of the neighbourhood that bordered the park.

The sound of his boot heels clicking on the sidewalk seemed unbearably loud in the oddly quiet air. This street seemed to be empty despite the bustling city around it. Everywhere he went in Tokyo was devoid of any meaning, but the strange movements on the edge of his consciousness continued to plague him with fear and doubt. He saw other people his age enjoying their lives full of happiness and seemingly carefree. All that Zakki could see was a vision of himself wandering the streets as an old man, babbling and rambling crazily, but he shook his head and tried to dispel that paranoid fear.

The slim youth's musing was broken by the sound of someone yelling. It was indistinct and difficult to pick out the words, so he lifted his head and looked around. The sound came from an alleyway and he moved towards it. It was a young teen's voice and he was terrified. The quiet young man began to run faster toward the sound. He dashed into the alley and saw a boy on the ground, trying to cover his body from the kicks that rained down on him, as he whimpered piteously.

"Leave him alone!" The slim young man's voice was surprisingly strong and authoritative as he stood in front of the two older men who were kicking the boy.

"Heh. Who's this? Go away, kid. Its none of your business." They turned back to the sobbing boy and continued to rain kicks on him as he cried out in pain.

"Stop!." Zakki took a step forward with considerably more bravery than he actually felt.

"Okay, you little shit, we will." The two men sneered and turned to face this irritating distraction from their satisfying beating.

One took a step forward, his heavy bulk dwarfing the young man's slim frame. Zakki didn't back down in spite of the size differential. The man grabbed him by the collar and lifted him up and tossed him easily into the concrete wall of a building. Zakki grunted but managed to struggle to his feet, so the other man hit him across the face and he fell again. As the two men beat him, Zakki noticed that the young boy had managed to get up and was slowly limping away.

Zakki staggered to his feet, trying to keep the men busy while the younger boy continued to escape. The larger of the two men hefted a rock and tossed it at him. He tried to dodge it but the sharp rock gashed his shoulder and he shouted in pain. The young man stood again with blood soaking his black clothing as the men circled him. Both men ran at him now and Zakki used his lithe frame to his advantage by diving out of the way. The momentum of both larger men carried them into each other. Both collapsed into a dazed pile and lay there groaning.

The slim lad shot a nervous glance over his shoulder as he limped towards his new acquaintance, but the two thugs seemed to be incapacitated. The small, bloodied figure slumped on the sidewalk in front of him and the young man, who was not much more filled out than the boy, managed to get him to his feet and help him. They limped and staggered as quickly as they could. Zakki managed to find a niche in between a wall and a tree and they both collapsed there, bruised, battered but alive.

"Are you alright? What did those assholes want?" Zakki asked in a weak voice.

"They wanted to rob me. I told them I didn't have any money, but they didn't care!" The boy whispered.

"They usually just want someone to hurt. You fit the bill at the moment. There's lots of people like that in this world. You need to be careful!"

The boy sobbed now, shaking.

The skinny young man reached out and patted him on the back briefly.

"What's your name? Mine's Zakki."

The boy glanced up, his dirty face looking tired in the moonlight, and said, "I'm Yusuke."

"Pleased to meet you, Yusuke. How'd you end up out here on the street? If I can ask that is." The solemn faced youth asked gently.

"I got kicked out of the house. I was doing badly in school and my father just lost his job. He started drinking a lot and he threw me out when I got my last report card. " The tired boy began to cry again.

Zakki patted him on the back quickly and spoke reflectively.

"I know how it feels. My parents rejected me as well. It still hurts like hell, but you figure out how to go on."

The tall, slim young man got up and helped the boy up next to him. They turned and began to walk slowly down the street. Now that Zakki had Yusuke safe with him it only made sense to keep protecting him as long as he was able to do so.

The next morning dawned cool and soggy. Yusuke had slept in Zakki's spare sleeping bag in one corner of his tent. On the other side of the tent, Zakki slowly stretched and cracked his back as he looked around the tent. It was cold and he hated the sensation of being dirty, but at least he had some shelter.

He heard the sounds of Yusuke stirring, so he stood, half stooped as he made some attempt at stretching a bit more in the confined space. Every one of his bruises hurt like hell and the wound on his shoulder blade throbbed. He reached back and felt the crust of dried blood on his shirt.

The angular youth stepped out of the tent. As the cool, damp morning air wrapped around him, he shivered. Zakki glanced around and wondered how long it would be before the cops showed up and evicted him.

"Hey….Zakki?" Yusuke's voice came softly from inside the tent.

The razor-thin youth elegantly moved back into the tent.

"Yeah? Whats up, Yusuke?" He asked in his soft tones.

"I had this terrifying dream last night. I kept thinking there was something in the tent that wanted to hurt me." The boy's voice was sleepy but his recollection of the dream was clearly troubling.

Zakki sat down and rested his back up against the wall on which the tent rested with his long legs stretched out in front of him.

"I've had those dreams too. I think that it's a pretty natural result of being stuck in a tent on the street."

In spite of himself, Zakki thought about the strange feelings he'd had of strange flickering that occurred on the edges of his consciousness. He worried about them and hoped he wasn't suffer the early symptoms of schizophrenia, but his reverie was interrupted by a sharp comment from his younger companion.

"Hey Zakki! There's someone coming!"

He focused on the door of the tent and saw an outline moving outside. The lanky twenty-something grimaced, as he realized that it was probably the owner of the building where they were camping coming to kick them out.

"Fuck! You'd start wrapping the sleeping bag up. We're probably going to have to move quickly. I'm sure we're about to be evicted!" The long, lean youth leaped across the tent, opening the tent flap and coming face to face with a large, livid man in an undershirt and ill-fitting jeans.

Zakki eyed him coolly. Unlike the men who'd been beating up Yusuke,this overheated idiot didn't intimidate him at all. The androgynous youth's green eyes met those of the middle-aged man and the man looked away first.

"What the **hell** are you doing on my property, you goddamn squatters!" The man's face was bright red as he shouted.

"We appear to be camping here. We'll be moving on soon so just calm down. " Zakki's naturally stubborn nature came to the fore as he squared his skinny shoulders and replied to the challenge.

"You filthy kids get the hell off of my property. I'll give you ten minutes to get out!" The landlord shoved Zakki and he stumbled back a few paces before catching his balance. The slim man, just barely out of his teens dusted himself off and walked slowly back to the tent and poked his head in.

"We're definitely moving on. Take that big duffel bag of mine and stuff whatever you can into it. I'll take the tent down." The boy nodded and started to stuff unruly piles of clothing, a few books that Zakki kept and anything else that he could find into the huge duffel bag.

The tent was a simple tarp affair and Zakki took it down with ease. The two of them finished clearing up camp and the skinny youth lifted the heavy duffel with a grunt. It felt as if it weighed more than he did. His shoulder throbbed but he gritted his teeth and the pair set off down the street through the waking city.

There didn't seem to be much to say for a few minutes as they trudged along but eventually Yusuke piped up.

"Why are you out on the street, Zakki?"

The almost painfully thin young man furrowed his brow as he struggled slowly down the road.

"Nothing was ever right at home. My parents started to argue when I was a little kid and it only got worse. Eventually I couldn't take it any more. I just had to get out."

Yusuke glanced up at him.

"That's pretty awful. Was it just the arguing? Like wasn't there more than that?"

"My father couldn't understand what was going on with me. He and my mother differed about what they should do about the stuff I was experiencing."

Zakki stopped and put the duffel down with a thud, leaning his lanky frame up against a low concrete wall.

"Um so, like, what were you experiencing?" Yusuke asked as he looked curiously at Zakki.

"You'll probably think I'm nuts if I tell you."

The young, moon-faced teen shook his head.

"Nah. I bet I won't!"

The lanky man next to him screwed up his face and said, "Sometimes I think I see things. I don't mean like full-blown hallucinations but like there's something just out of sight that's trying to chase me."

"Oh that's weird. Sometimes I get stuff like that too!"

Zakki stared at him and replied, "Really? Seriously?

"Oh yeah. I just kinda ignore it. I bet it's just a bunch of ghosts or something." The boy's tone was nonchalant. The slim twenty-year old wished he could be that cavalier about his odd sensations and he said, "There's no such thing as ghosts, Yusuke."

His companion only laughed.

"There are so. You just have to believe in them."

Zakki just let the matter slide at that point and they began dragging their heavy bags down the road again looking for another place to camp. Eventually they found an isolated corner of one of Tokyo's bigger parks and settled down into it as unobtrusively as possible. They ate a meagre meal of chocolate bars that Zakki had stashed away and washed it down with a flat can of cola before getting ready to sleep. As was often the case, sleep came quickly to the exhausted youths once they'd climbed into their sleeping bags.

There was a tug on the leg of the slim youth's pants and he came more fully awake. Looking down, he saw the slight figure of Yusuke sitting at his feet, staring intensely at him. Zakki sat up and gave the boy a quizzical look.

"What is it, Yusuke? It's the middle of the night." The young man tried to keep annoyance from creeping into his voice as he spoke. The last thing he wanted to do was snap at his younger friend.

"You looked like you had mist all around you, Zakki. I thought I was dreaming but I think I was actually awake. I told you there are ghosts!" The boy was looking off, past Zakki, into some place that was much more remote.

The brooding youth nodded slowly as he took in Yusuke's words. He responded, "Are you sure you really saw that?"

"Yes! I'm not lying to you! I told you I see stuff like that!"

The skinny older boy sat up more and yawned before he spoke again.

"Okay, okay I believe you! So how often does it happen to you? "

"Um every couple months. Sometimes more. Sometimes I feel like something really,really bad is out there waiting to get me. "

The small teen shivered and it wasn't just the temperature inside the tent that made him shake

Zakki said, "Yeah I get that too but I think we're safe for now. Try to go back to bed and get some sleep, kid.

The younger teen scampered across the tent and climbed into his sleeping bag. Zakki zipped his own sleeping bag tighter around himself and tried to sleep, but he tossed and turned on the cold, hard ground under him and a streetlight sent a beam of light into his eyes. Before he managed to drift off, he wondered if by some strange quirk of fate, he'd found a friend who understood what he felt and the terrors that plagued his nights.


	2. Chapter 2: Unseen Glances

Thousands of people walked by the tall, regal man in his antiquated black and white robes. The man smiled slightly at their total ignorance of the world beyond their senses that lingered just out of the reach of their minds. Yasunari Nishizaki was third seat of the Twelfth Division the division of the Gotei 13 devoted to the tracking and elimination of all spiritual targets that threatened its well-being. He was here in Tokyo's vast metropolis on an investigation of an anomalous spike in the number of humans who were showing the ability to sense and even manipulate reiatsu. Worse than that, there were actual organizations in Tokyo seeking out those people with powers and recruiting them. His soutaichou had been quite clear that these organizations could not be permitted to challenge the shinigami for supremacy over the spiritual realms.

Right now, his keen glance was trained on a truly pathetic tarpaulin "tent" that sat sequestered in the corner of an alley. He'd felt notable traces of reiatsu emanating from the humans that were in the tent, but not enough that they could sense his presence. He had the ability to suppress his reiatsu signature for short periods of time but he didn't want to expend that energy unless it was necessary.

He'd also chosen this pair of humans because other interests had also turned their attention on them. Two men with dark sunglasses and surprisingly expensive suits had rather too intently stopped and stared at the tent as they wandered by. Yasu was sure that one of the two known groups seeking spiritually- potentiated humans was about to make a move on these two. He wanted to be there when it happened.

Inside of the tent that Yasu was watching, Yusuke lay stretched out on the dirty sleeping bag that was the only thing between him and the asphalt of the alley. The air in Tokyo was humid and Yusuke felt drained and exhausted. The tent sheltered him from the worst of the sun but the humidity still soaked the young teenager to the skin.

The slight young man sighed and wondered where Zakki had gotten to. His strange older friend had said he'd try to find some food and disappeared out into the streets several hours ago. The teenager felt the gnawing of his empty stomach more acutely and the humidity made him feel woozy. Yusuke restlessly kicked his feet and sat up, trying to stretch his back out a bit. Hard asphalt didn't make for the most comfortable bed.

As Yusuke sat up, his mind began to turn over the last two months of his young life. Before all of this began, he'd been your typical happy-go-lucky kid, well, mostly typical. There were the odd experiences of things just

beyond sensation that the youngster had felt from time to time but his life had been full of friends, baseball and crushes on girls.

The horrible day that the teen's father had come home after losing his job was imprinted on Yusuke's mind in an indelible blot. His father had staggered into the house, clearly drunk, and announced that he'd been laid off. Life had slid downhill after that until one day after he'd received a particularly bad exam result, the taut string of his father's temper had snapped and Yusuke had been thrown out with no explanation and little hope.

The next two weeks had been a blur of wandering, stealing food, begging for it when the young boy had to. He'd been lucky that Zakki had arrived when he did.

A sudden noise alerted Yusuke and he glanced out of the tent expecting to see Zakki. Instead he saw two vulpine-looking men in neatly tailored suits moving towards the tent. The young teen froze in fear and then managed to stand, he desperately thought of trying to bolt between the men but they filled the door of the tent. Yusuke ran towards them and they threw him back to the ground.

Blood poured from a gash that opened in his head as they tossed him down. One said to the other, "Would you be careful! The boss says she wants this little shit alive. Don't fracture his skull, you moron." The man grimaced and grabbed Yusuke's kicking, struggling form. They dragged him out of the tent and he managed to wriggle free. The teen tried to yell for help but the traffic noise drowned him and the alley was too difficult to see from the street. He ran but one of the men caught him and gave him a sharp cuff across the face. Blackness welled up and Yusuke spun down into it.

As the men passed him, Yasunari focused his reiatsu and the thin trail of spiritual energy coming from the teenage boy became apparent in the air. The shinigami smiled to himself and thought _Now finding out where you're hiding is going to be a piece of cake! _

The sun beat down on the hot streets of Tokyo and Zakki sweated in the humidity of the late fall warmth. Ginza was alive and the crowds were crushing at midday. The tall, lean youth had ventured out into the midst of the traffic and noise in order to try and find a job. He wasn't really sure if anyone would hire him, but he had to do something to make money. He had considered more drastic measures but the notion of selling his body filled him with dread. He was completely wrapped up in his own head as he wandered along.

His thoughts turned to his new companion as he walked along. It had been nearly two weeks since Yusuke had joined him. The boy was starting to become like a little brother to him. In his loneliest days as a child, he'd wanted someone around to look out for. He hadn't figured on running into anyone that might fill that role any time soon. Zakki stopped short and cursed to himself. He promised he'd get them some food, but his money had finally run out.

The slim youth turned on his heel and walked back into the press of the Ginza crowd. With a sigh, Zakki realized he'd have to do something he detested and steal some food. The introspective young man disliked this in the extreme but he was left with little choice.

With an eye on where he could find some food and get away quickly, Zakki sought out a very busy 7-11 where he might have some chance of success.. Once he was in, the slim youth sidled up next to the freezer case and managed to snatch a couple of packages of onigiri without being noticed. The place was packed so he was able to slip out unnoticed.

After jogging most of the way back, the, tall twenty-year-old finally turned the corner into the alley where he'd put their tent and called out to Yusuke that he had some lunch for them. There was no answer and Zakki's stomach turned over after he called a second time with no response. He walked closer to the ten and his heart pounded hard as he realized that Yusuke was gone.

The tent was in a massive state of disarray. Sleeping bags and clothing were strewn over it and with a barely stifled gasp, Zakki realized there were bloodstains on the ground, near Yusuke's backpack. Tears rushed to the lanky youth's eyes as he sank slowly to his knees. Why'd he left the boy here? He'd been the only person he wanted to protect and now he was gone. The pale young man sobbed and clutched at his face unable to believe that he'd let harm come to his younger friend. The sounds of the city sank into silence as grief rushed through him and left him choking on his tears.

Note: The AU division framework and most of Yasu's techniques are based on the Halcyon Days roleplay universe. I'd like to credit everyone who was responsible for its creation and expansion over many years. You guys know who you are. I will explain this framework to my readers as the story continues.


	3. Chapter 3: Rescue and Return

Zakki extended his long fingers and raked them through his shaggy black hair in a habitual gesture. His dark hair felt thick and matted, but it had been quite some time since he'd been under a shower. The ghostly pale young man felt like an abject failure as he sat beside the bloodstains that dotted the concrete near the tent. He had no home, no job and now nobody to look after. He traced the fine-boned, androgynous outlines of his face with filthy palms and rested it in his hands for a moment as a deep sigh trickled from between his teeth.

Yusuke had simply accepted his stories about seeing things. More to the point, Zakki thought, the kid had talked of his own feelings of something pressing at the interstices between conventional reality and something beyond that reality. Now he was alone again with no one to stop him from thinking too much. In spite of his best efforts to keep the tears at bay, he couldn't resist and they welled up and rolled down his face as he sat in front of the forlorn little tent.

Eventually, he began to sit up a little more and the despair in his eyes began to fall away. He got up and stretched before eating the last of the onigiri that he'd stolen. He realized that he was being a child about all of this. If he didn't help himself, no one else would. Looking as he did, there was no point in getting a job until he could clean himself up, so he decided to try and trace Yusuke himself. Surely somebody must have seen something!

As evening finally rolled around, a dejected Zakki stumbled dazedly back to his makeshift tent. He'd wasted hours being ignored, thrown out or told that no one had seen anything. He'd never realized until he'd lived on the street how indifferent people were when you looked (and smelled) like he did. He was too tired to do anything but crawl back into the tent and fall into a fitful sleep.

When Yusuke woke his head was throbbing and his arms and legs were tightly secured to his sides with rough ropes. He was in a dimly lit room. Next to him, also tightly bound and bloody, was another, slightly older boy.

"Hey...hey there..you awake?" Yusuke asked in a quiet voice and the girl mumbled and stirred a little but didn't respond. He tried again, "Come on, wake up!" Finally, he opened his eyes and looked around.

"Wh...where are we?" He glanced around wildly and back at Yusuke.

Before Yusuke could answer the room was flooded with light and a man burst in. He was masked and dressed in a dark suit. He stomped over to the pair and shouted, "No talking!"

With vicious ease, he kicked Yusuke in the side, so that the boy tumbled over and lay there moaning in pain. He fought to stay conscious but a black wall rose up and devoured his mind again.

Light slowly crept back into Yusuke's world. The small teenager was sitting up again but there was a throbbing ache in his side and it hurt to breathe a little. Yusuke glanced around. The young boy was still in the same small, dim room inside a much larger echoing space. He looked across and his older companion looked back at him with tired eyes.

Despite the pain and his still spinning head, Yusuke managed a smile, "Uh...hi there! I'm Yusuke. Are you okay?" The gentle-looking boy raised his eyebrows as he asked, affirming the question with that movement.

The older boy looked puzzled at his positive attitude and replied quietly, "My name's Jin. I'm okay. I mean as okay as I can be I guess."

Yusuke tried to be reassuring, even though he was quite afraid. He had an irrepressible personality and he spoke as buoyantly as he could, "Try to keep smiling. I'm sure we'll find a way out!"

Jin looked skeptical and said, "Quit being so happy! Look at where you are!"

His companion shook his head and replied, "We can't give up just because of this. I won't ever give up as long as I'm alive!"

The small teenager cocked his head and added, "Shh Jin. They're coming back."

The two of them spoke loudly as they lounged around outside the door to the room. One, taller and rougher looking spoke first, "Why do we have to keep these brats in here? They don't seem to have any...what'd the boss say...capabilities that I can see." The other man was smaller and more compact, but had a coolly cunning look in his eyes. He spoke in softer tones, "They don't have capabilities that you can _see_. I am not sure they really know about them."

After a few minutes of idle chat, the men moved off again. Yusuke spoke up and said, "I wonder what they meant about capabilities. I hope they don't want to **do** anything to us. This is damn creepy!"

Jin spoke again, "Before they brought you here, they were going on about the God Of Death or something bizarre like that. Maybe its one of those crazy religious cults. You hear about them on the news and stuff. Like the guys in the Tokyo subway back in the 90's. We're so fucked."

Yusuke's eyebrows shot up at that comment and he shuddered, despite the fact that his arms and legs were tightly bound. His voice was nervous as he said, "I really hope that's not it. I'd hate to be involved in some kinda weird ceremony or something!"

A laugh sounded from outside their door and a voice said, "You should consider yourselves lucky. You're about to be put to very good use, so please be quiet before I come in there and break your fucking jaws."

The pair lapsed into silence again and eventually, unbidden, sleep came and dragged them away.

Under the circumstances, Yasu was glad that he'd left his gigai back in Rukongai. He'd tracked the spiritual signature of the boy across the entire city and done so without anyone taking note. As he approached the building where he'd been taken, the shinigami sensed a number of reiatsu signatures. He picked up Yusuke's and another of similar strength as well as three others that were much stronger. As a precaution, he utilized a hard-earned division technique called "reiatsu no senpuku" that allowed him to cloak his reiatsu by "bending" it to mimic ambient reiatsu in the environment*.

He was cloaked from detection, but Yasu still moved cautiously. The capabilities of the human groups were, as yet, an unknown quantity and the shinigami wasn't taking any chances. The stronger reiatsu signatures were emanating from the three guards that seemed to be in the place. As he peered around a corner, the muscled Death God saw the two forms of the teenagers laying bound and bloody on the floor. In spite of himself, Yasu felt a flash of anger at the treatment they were receiving. He considered it his duty to protect the vulnerable of any kind and this mistreatment disgusted him.

Another one of the traits that he was often scolded over was his impulsive reaction to circumstances. In this case, he couldn't simply ignore what was happening to these boys. A dry voice sounded in his head as Hisame, his zanpakuto, said _Are you really sure you want to disobey Katagiri-taichou? Remember what happened the last time?_

Yasu snapped back _This is different. There are only two of them and three guards. I can easily defeat the guards without killing them. Those boys don't have enough reiatsu in between them to notice a shini-mouse._

Hisame "chuckled" and quipped _Well don't release me unless you really need to._

The seated officer crept closer and closer to his target. He was aiming to catch the third guard unaware and make the first move. Apparently his cloaking abilities were strong because he was nearly on top of the man before he dropped the cloak. Unlike some of his fellow Twelfth members, Yasu had practiced his kidou and was quite proficient with it. Bakudou would be ideal and he knew one that would work easily here. The man whirled around but it was too late as the shinigami shouted **Gods of the heavens, shine thy helping hand upon the Earth. Protect thy faithful servant! Bakudou #37, Tsuriboshi! **Immediately a glowing net of energy erupted from Yasu's hands and enmeshed the man. He struggled and strained but he was held fast.

The other two guards sprinted towards the noise with their guns drawn which only caused a crooked smile to cross Yasu's face as he called out **From the tower's summit, hurl the roaring beast. Hadou #5, Demon Fist. **He sent the fist of energy smashing into the first man who yelped and flew through the air to crash into a pile of boxes. The second man fired on him but the bullet passed through him harmlessly as he called out the incantation a second time and knocked the other man flying. Both of them lay unconscious but breathing as the third man kept struggling in his cage. Yasunari walked up to him and pointed Hisame at the man who spat, "What the fuck do you want, Death God?"

The shinigami's face was cold and he said, "You are going to untie those two boys in there or you'll meet Hisame. You don't want to meet Hisame."

The man grumbled but he was no match for a fully-trained member of the Gotei's squads and he knew it. The energy net dissipated but Yasu kept the zanpakuto's blade leveled at the back of his neck. He marched the man along and watched with his cold grey eyes as the lackey untied the two boys. The sweat running down the thug's face was proof of his nerves and he ushered the pair out rapidly. The two young men were utterly bewildered by their captor's bizarre behaviour although both of them could swear that they felt _something _in the air. Their heavyset jailer threw them outside and rapidly shut the door. Yusuke turned to Jin and asked, "Do you have any idea what the hell that was about?"

His sarcastic companion glared at him and answered, "They tied us the fuck up in some warehouse and you want logic? I'm getting the hell out of here. You're on your own, kid." He went jogging off into the distance and Yusuke decided to do the same. As he escaped, he realized that he was recognizing landmarks. Soon he'd set himself on a course back to the alley where he hoped that Zakki was still camping. He didn't want his friend to worry any more than necessary.

The lean, pale youth paced with agitation in front of the tarp that passed for his home. He was working himself into a complete state of worry with no release in sight. He knew that he should just move on and forget Yusuke, but it wasn't in his nature to do so. He cursed the fact that neither of them could afford to pay their mobile bills first amongst all of the other things that he cursed in his life. Just as he started down the long list of things worthy of cursing, a light voice carried through the air.

"Hey Zakki! I'm alright! I didn't mean to scare you but hoo boy do I have a story for you!"


	4. Chapter 4: Half-Seen Battle

It had been a tearful reunion between Zakki and Yusuke, but they'd had little time for sentiment. Yusuke told the strange story of his kidnapping and the mention of the term "death god" and some vague references to "capabilities". His pale, waifish friend had been thoughtful but admitted that it didn't make much sense. Ultimately, they'd both concluded that leaving their tent where it was didn't seem prudent any more. The traffic rushed past the pair as they walked down a stretch of sidewalk beside a busy residential street. It was wearing on to around 4 p.m. and they'd been in search of a new place to camp.

The youthful, round-faced boy suddenly pointed and grinned. He said, "Look Zakki, there's a big playing field with a hedge next to it by that school. We could put the tarp up behind the hedge, they'd never see!"

The tall, pale young man next to him sighed and put the backpack and duffel bag he carried down with a thud. He spoke softly, "At this point, Yusuke, anywhere is good. Come on, everyone's still going to be in class!" He groaned and hefted the bags again as they started across the field.

After twenty or so minutes, the tarp was set up behind the hedge and Zakki leaned against his backpack with his legs sticking out from under the edges of the tent. His younger friend had found a baseball and was tossing it up into the air in a corner of the field. Everything seemed to be calmer now, but so many questions still lingered in the lanky young man's mind.

A sudden movement on the edges of the razor-slim boy's vision attracted him and he perked up a little. There was a flickering, heavy quality to the air and he detected a shadowy motion. Zakki looked again and felt a knot of fear seize his stomach. There was something there, between the tent and Yusuke in the field, but it was indistinct and seemed to fade in and out. For a brief moment, he could see it and what he saw terrified him. A bone white, alien mask stood out against the heavy feline bulk of whatever the thing happened to be.

The black-clad youth leapt to his feet and shouted, "Yusuke! Can you see _that_?"

There was only a barely flickering outline that appeared to the young boy, but he spun on his heel and sprinted for the tent.

As he ran past, Yusuke felt a massive and dangerous presence behind him. It was invisible but it had weight and form. He screamed in horror as he felt something reach for him and just fall short of his ankles. As he watched his friend running, Zakki stood with legs that were rooted to the spot as the eldritch monster charged him.

Another field of energy entered his awareness and he thought that he saw a tall man dressed in black and white robes land in front of the thing that was charging them. The sight was gone quickly but he sensed powerful surges and fluctuations of energy in the air around him.

Yasunari Nishizaki, on the other hand, clearly saw the Hollow in front of him, but he didn't fear it. It was relatively small and weak by his standards although he was quite sure it seemed like the most terrifying kind of yokai ever to the two humans he'd been tracking. Now there was no hesitation as Hisame sang from his sheath and the shinigami used shunpo to flank the creature. The Hollow came plowing to a halt and glared hungrily at him from the eye-slits in its strange mask. All that it knew was that this was a tasty morsel of reiatsu and it could potentially be eaten. A jagged smile crossed Yasu's face as he called out: **Wintry storms blow frigid blasts, ice strikes the evil heart! Hisame! **The ice-blue katana flared with magical light as shikai was activated. A tendril of icy reiatsu flowed out from the wave-form patterns on the sword and struck the Hollow directly in the centre of the mask.

An unearthly howl rang out as the creature's head was rendered immobile by that power and in that moment, Yasu struck, full of the terrible energy imbued in him by his blade. The razor-sharp sword sank easily into the mask of the Hollow and sliced it in two like a melon. At once, a sense of peace descended, as the shinigami had done his duty and cleansed the dark soul. The gates of Hell remained firmly shut so Yasu could be confident that it was now a Plus and would enter the ranks of Soul Society cleansed. Although he doubted that the two boys across the field could see it, the shinigami bowed to them before turning away again. He wasn't going to return to Soul Society yet. There was still too much to be learned here on Earth.

From Zakki's perspective, the battle had been fragmentary, but even those small fragments were a terrifying sight. He'd felt _something _move within him when the strange black-and-white clad being had struck and within seconds that sensation had dwindled away again. By this point in time, Yusuke was standing next to him, equally struck by the oddly flickering fight that he'd witnessed.

The two young men found it difficult to speak for a few minutes afterwards. Eventually it was the older of the pair who said, "What the hell's going on in this place? You get kidnapped by some freaks who go on about death gods and now we see...well...whatever the fuck we just saw. Both of us have seen things before but it seems to be happening way more often."

Yusuke chimed in, "Maybe...do you think one of those things that we saw is a death god? Maybe the fact that we can see this stuff is what they meant by capabilities?"

Zakki tented his fingers in front of his lips for a moment and then said, "It's what I'm thinking. None of this crazy shit makes any sense though. Why should we be able to see it? I think we ought to go back to where we camped first. I wanna look for clues. It isn't like we've got anything else to do right now."

His round-faced young companion nodded his head in agreement and said, "After this, I wanna know what's happening too. I don't wanna stay here anyways. I'm afraid something else is gonna come looking for us. I don't wanna be around if it does!"


	5. Chapter 5: Fight, Flight, Healing

The next morning dawned grey and rain-soaked, as Zakki and his young companion huddled under the tarp that passed for their home, eating some instant ramen noodles. The whole of Tokyo seemed bedraggled under the fall rain as they both stared out at the falling drops, shimmering faintly on the grass of the manicured playing field where they'd set up camp.

Pulling his hood tighter around his face, the angular young man thoughtfully munched on his ramen, enjoying the feeling of a full-ish stomach and the taste of something in his mouth.

Zakki said to Yusuke, "Well, I'll admit that today isn't the most inspiring day to begin our investigation, but this is too important for us not to try and research it."

The baby-faced boy looked torn as he said, "Well I don't know if I really wanna but I do kinda feel like we should try n' figure out what the heck it time we'll be ready to run the hell out of there though!"

Rain beaded on the umbrella that Yusuke had cleverly nabbed from a drunken salaryman one night. They had to dodge the crowds that filled the mid-afternoon streets and the air was misty as steam rose from the cars that rushed by. They walked quietly, each lost in thought, as they moved through the throngs of people.

Zakki tried to fit the disparate pieces of this complex puzzle together. The time he'd had to concentrate himself on the task of making some sense out of what would seem senseless was beginning to form patterns in his brain. The initial flickerings that he'd felt as a kid were getting more intense. Visions that had once been indistinct had coalesced into more solid shapes. Solid shapes, the young man mused, that seemed to have a taste for human beings. His back still ached where the thing's claws had raked down his vulnerable flesh. But there was more that tugged at the edges of the elegant boy's mind because these creatures seemed drawn to him.

He was terrified by that ravening, empty thing that he'd seen but at least he knew it wasn't the product of a damaged mind. Of course, it didn't explain what these things were or what it meant that he could see them nor did it explain why Yusuke also had some of that sight. It also failed to account for the being that had fought off the creature.

The slender youth's reverie was broken by his friend's chipper voice cutting through the clouds of thought and returning him more fully to the present moment.

"Yo! Zakki? Where were you, man? You almost walked into that damn lamppost!" Yusuke glanced around, a little nervously as though he expected something to come out of the shadows and nab him.

The porcelain-skinned twenty year old shoved his dark bangs out of his green eyes and looked around, trying to locate a landmark. He saw the 7-11 from which he'd stolen the food and they moved back towards the alleyway where they'd started camping. At first glance, there was nothing to see, but Zakki realized that he felt a nearly imperceptible tingle about four metres from where they'd camped.

The clouds overhead continued to let forth a steady stream of rain and the alleyway was shadowed but they seemed to be simple shadows. The air was full of the sound of water splashed by car wheels, voices and the hum of traffic but there was nothing else there.

Yusuke looked disappointed as he stood in the rain with Zakki. He shrugged and shuffled around in a small circle while gazing up at a billboard.

"Well, I was hoping maybe we'd find something and at least we could do…something. I'm not sure what but its better than standing here clueless." The young boy twirled his umbrella around in circles as he kicked at a can laying on the ground.

The lanky youth standing beside him observed, "I did _feel _a little something closer to the entrance of the alley, but it mighta been my imagination."

Zakki felt a stronger tingle and he jerked his head around and as his eyes settled on a particularly shadowed corner he concentrated all of his focus on that space. He was certain that something had shifted in the air and his heart felt heavy and cold in his chest. His eyes adjusted and yes, there it was. That animalistic, primitive shape that seemed to be made out of darkness. It turned its face to him and Zakki stared into that alien mask, his feet seemed to be rooted to the spot.

Next to him, Yusuke saw his older friend's eyes go wide and watched a vein in his pale neck throb as Zakki involuntarily took a step back. The young boy clenched his hands tightly around the umbrella and got ready to run or whatever he needed to do. He could see the barest hints of something there but it was clear his friend saw a great deal more.

The creature stayed staring at Zakki for a moment and the young man stared back. There was a terrible moment of stillness and then the thing lunged rapidly in a blur of predatory motion. He heard the sound of Yusuke crying out as a huge clawed paw swatted the boy backwards into a lamp post where he lay, moaning and bleeding from a gash on his arm. At least he hadn't hit his head.

Zakki's stomach lurched as he saw Yusuke flung away like a doll and the creature wheeled towards him again. Fear seized hold of the pale young man's heart but he stood his ground. This thing wasn't going to hurt the only person for whom he'd been able to care. He'd die if he had to but he wanted Yusuke to get away.

"Come on Yusuke! Get up and run!" The older boy urged his friend on with tears flowing from his eyes, even as he set his jaw in determination. The abomination charged him and he managed to duck out of the way but it caught him again and he felt claws tearing into his leg as he stumbled backwards and fell. The skinny youth willed himself to his feet quickly as the dark mass turned on him again and rushed forward.

Rolling quickly to the side, Zakki avoided it but saw that Yusuke was unable to get up, the boy laying there stunned as the evil thing sought to attack him. With a yell, Zakki dived into the path of the creature charging his friend. He felt something twist painfully in his arm as he hit the ground but he managed to roll up and into the path of the creature.

Abruptly, the air seemed to thicken and coalesce around Zakki. A moment later there was a tremendous upwelling of energy from somewhere in his body followed by a burning sensation radiating out from his chest. For a moment,he thought he might be dying of a heart attack, but the bright golden whorl of light erupting from his chest told another story. It spiraled out in the shape of his tattoo and struck at the shadowy being. As it reached the creature, the ugly monstrosity seemed to cringe from it and try to escape but it wasn't fast enough. There was a bloodcurdling howl as the light struck it and a moment later the ugly beast had turned to run away from them.

Zakki felt as though every ounce of strength had left his body. He tried to stand up but he couldn't manage it. He sank down on one leg and shut his eyes as he fought to stay awake. He could see Yusuke get to his feet and come running over to him but consciousness eluded him and he slipped away again.

The smell of disinfectant and the sound of crisp footsteps echoing down long hallways greeted Zakki's ears as he slowly returned to consciousness. His eyes opened slowly to find himself laying in a hospital bed. A man in a lab coat was peering down at him and he realized the man was speaking to him in a calm, assured voice. He tried to focus on the man's words as he talked.

He was saying, "Hello Shihara-san, I'm Dr. Amemiya. You sustained some rather nasty injuries.. We're going to have to put a cast on that wrist! It's not a complicated fracture but I want to immobilize it so it'll set properly. The wound on your leg will need a few sutures and you took quite a knock on the head, so we'll have to keep you in for observation.

The doctor, in his late fifties with wavy silver hair and a kindly face, waited for the young man's response.

The words formed slowly in Zakki's dry mouth and he said, "How did you know my name? I guess…Yusuke?"

The doctor smiled and replied, "Yes, I already had the pleasure of meeting Yusuke-kun. He's fine, but he explained that you got into a scrape with some rough types. The boy had the presence of mind to get you some help quickly!"

The sound of quick, bouncy footsteps echoed through the hall and Yusuke came around the corner and even with his bandaged ribs, dashed up to the bedside and patted his older friend on the arm. He said, "I was really worried when you blacked out!"

Amemiya laid a restraining arm on the younger boy's shoulder and whispered something. Yusuke looked sheepish and said, "I guess we can talk more later. Doc here says that you've got some stuff that needs doing. Later! "

The next several hours consisted of Zakki being carted around the hospital from department to department until he was casted, bandaged, cleaned and stitched. His stomach growled with hunger, he felt slightly faint and every bone in his body seemingly ached. Eventually as he was propped up in bed, eating, Yusuke came and pulled up a chair beside the bed.

The boy's voice was low and quiet as he spoke, "I thought we were dead when that thing hit me! I only saw a bit of it and then I was flying through the air. I woke up and that weird-ass light was coming from your chest! What the hell, man?"

The tired looking, painfully thin young man shook his head in confusion and replied, "I really don't know. I just know that I felt this power surge, all my hair stood on end and suddenly that light came from my chest. It looked just like my tattoo and it felt like I was being set on fire. Whatever it was took place inside of me somehow."

He added, "It explains a lot! I'm pretty sure that neither of us is insane at this point!"

Yusuke said, "Nope. We're pretty solid I think. I couldn't totally see the thing. Was it the same as the one in the field?"

Zakki remembered the sensation of the alien-faced being turning and rushing him and shuddered, "It sure was. I'll never forget the way it looked at me. Its eyes were like dark pools that I could've drowned in. The way I responded must be related to all that talk of capabilities those guys were doing when they grabbed you."

Yusuke spoke again, quickly as his mind worked, "Well, yeah. The people that nabbed me and Jin talked about special capabilities, Maybe they meant whatever you did back there! I mean, I know I can see stuff like you do and now maybe you have more…power and that's why you can see better and why you did that thing in the alley."

The skinny, fragile youth slowly turned Yusuke's words over in his mind before forming a response, "Yeah, I feel like I am starting to get more and more able to see the spirit world or whatever it is. I don't know why or how but its like I'm gaining power."

Yusuke smiled, "Hey! Its good that you're growing! Maybe what you have is really special! I mean, how many people can say they've seen spirits?"

A weak half-smile touched Zakki's ruby lips and he shook his head as he said, "We nearly got killed back there and I'm not sure I ever want to see or sense what I felt coming from that thing again. I hope that isn't all the spirit world holds because, if so, I want nothing to do with it!"

Zakki pushed his tray of food away and sank lower into the bed. He couldn't manage to keep his eyes open and he let sleep slowly overtake him. Yusuke gently moved the pillows down, tenderly pulling the blanket up for his older friend, the fragile young man, slept peacefully, forgetting the darkness that lingered in his mind.


	6. Chapter 6: Investigative Error

It was a dreary day in late fall as Zakki, his young friend Yusuke and the punky Harumi all made their way down the streets that lead to the Yokohama Pharmaceuticals building. The girl's brightly colored hair and insanely mismatched patchwork of clothing stood out violently against the grey backdrop of buildings.

Zakki hoped she wouldn't draw too much attention. Then again, his height and his all black outfit weren't exactly inconspicuous in this bustling area. Harumi broke their concentrated silence as she said, "Okay, we need to go around the side of the building. There's a door there that some of the employees use to take a smoke break. All we need to do is distract one of 'em and sneak in through the open door. I'll be the decoy cuz I'm good at it. You guys sneak in!"

Despite his natural caution, the slim young man was driven to try and learn as much as he could about what might potentially be happening to him. This might have been one of the more stupid things he'd ever done, but his need to understand trumped his need to be safe in this setting. They concealed themselves behind a large trash bin at the side of the building and waited. After about fifteen minutes, they had their lucky break and one man, dressed like a janitor, stepped out to light a cigarette.

Without waiting, Harumi sprang forward and began to harangue the poor man, so that his attention was completely absorbed by this loud, bright and overly energetic young woman. She made sure to turn his attention away from the open door and, in a surge of energy, both Yusuke and Zakki sprinted for the door and darted in.

Too late, the employee realized that he'd let intruders in, but as he turned to chase after them Harumi stuck her foot out and the man went sprawling. She darted away and began to run in the opposite direction from her two former companions to draw any pursuit away.

Inside the building, Zakki and his young companion found themselves outside of a large, echoing hallway. The Yokoham Pharmaceuticals logo was everywhere. The place was bustling so if they had any chance of slipping in undetected this is the place it would happen. A knot of people passed by, so the older of the two youths swung the door open and stepped in behind them, following close behind. The ruse seemed to work and they moved further into the building.

Zakki felt a sinking feeling in his chest. Nothing around them seemed to be out of the ordinary at all. It looked like the usual drably efficient corporate entity that it appeared to be on the outside. At least, it looked that way until one hand fell on Zakki's shoulder and the other took Yusuke firmly by _his _shoulder and turned him around. They found themselves staring into the cool blue gaze of a powerfully built blonde woman who glanced from one to the other and said, "Well, well. You thought you could just sneak in here huh?"

Before the lanky youth or his small companion could reply, the woman was joined by a small, quickly moving man who removed a syringe from a pouch at his side, wordlessly plunged it into Zakki's neck and withdrew it. The young man tried to struggle but his knees began turning to water. He tried to make a noise but nothing would come out. The last thing he saw was Yusuke's panicked face as the small man withdrew another syringe and sunk it into his neck too.

The office was dominated by a huge, heavy desk behind which the ice-eyed blonde woman sat. There was a sharp knock on her door and she called out, "Come in!" with her commanding voice. Her tone changed slightly, however, when she realized that it was Chairman Yamanaka of Cerberus Corporation who stood at her door. She said, "Chairman! I wasn't expecting your visit. Do please come in and have a seat."

The heavyset, good-looking man in his immaculately tailored suit crossed the floor in a few easy strides and sat down in the proffered chair. His brown eyes were probing as he spoke, but his voice betrayed no emotion.

"It has come to my attention, Director Drachenwald, that we had a rather glaring breach in security this morning. Would you care to fill me in on how two vagrant kids managed to break in?"

If Elizabet Drachenwald was nervous, she didn't show it. She simply said, "Unfortunately, we had a rather lax employee doing patrols of the perimeter this morning. He missed the breach but our thanatoresonance detectors picked up the intruders. It seems that they're potentiated."

Yamanaka pursed his lips and tented his long fingers in front of them before he said, "It's rather rare that we have targets come to us, isn't it? Tell me, Director Drachenwald, just how much potential do they have?"

Elizabet replied coolly, "With appropriate training and skill development, I'd say that both of them could go a long way. The older boy in particular has something about his energy signature that bodes well for future development."

The Chairman nodded slowly and said, "I see. This is highly irregular but I think that you ought to...uh...offer them a deal. Give them the choice of remaining with us or being turned over to the police. Perhaps you might even hint at _Option B_. That'd even scare me."

There was something sinister in his gaze as he watched his employee. Elizabet sighed and said, "Sometimes I think you actually enjoy that part of the Corporation. Very well, I'll have them brought down here and I'll offer them the deal, but you're going to let me do things my way, Toshiro."

Yamanaka smiled icily and stood. He said, "Would you ever have things any other way, Elizabet? Just keep me apprised of the situation. Good day."

He bowed slightly and left the room. Elizabet Drachenwald watched him go and reflected on how much she hated her job sometimes. Being the Director of Intelligence and Observation for Cerberus Corporation had its perks but they only went so far. Over the years, she'd become inured to some of her employer's excesses, but she never entirely forgot her own moral compass.

* * *

Ever since he'd been following the tracks of his human targets, Yasu had been surprised by their persistence and their desire to learn about the unseen world around them. He'd nearly stepped in when Zakki had faced down the Hollow, but once he felt the boy's surge of energy, he'd chosen to observe the battle. It was true that the skinny young man had no control over his abilities, but the innate reiatsu he possessed had shocked the shinigami deeply. He was secretly glad that Zakki had survived.

He'd trailed the pair to the youth hostel and then out into the streets on that drab fall morning. As they'd approached Cerberus Corporation, Yasu had been in for another shock. The amount of reishi that came from inside of the building was staggering. It spread out in a halo around the place and the shinigami didn't dare approach it too closely. He was certain that they'd be able to sense him, even if he was cloaked. He deeply wanted to know what was going on in there and why his two targets had decided to enter the building, but he had to return and report this to his soutaichou. There was no way that the 12th Division could allow humans that much unchecked power. As much as Yasunari liked the humans, he owed a greater duty to Soul Society.

He was sure, as he headed for the Gate that would allow him to move back to Soul Society, that this wasn't the last time he'd be seeing Zakki and Yusuke. He only hoped that they wouldn't become victims of the conflict that threatened to brew after he delivered the news about Cerberus Corporation to his Captain.

_Glossary:_

_Thanatoresonance: Cerberus Corporation's word for reiatsu._

_Potentiated: Humans with spiritual potential._


	7. Chapter 7: New Recruits

Consciousness swam back slowly to Zakki and with it the slow return of memory. His neck still hurt where the syringe had been plunged into it and with a panicked gasp he looked around to see if he could find Yusuke. The teenager was across the room from him, laying on his own hard bed, so the lanky youth tried to stand up and go to him. He barely managed to get up before his spinning head forced him to sit again. Yusuke began to stir and moan, rubbing at his neck, as he also came back into consciousness. He looked over at his companion and mumbled, "Uhnnn my head. What the hell did those fuckers give us?"

The pale young man sitting across from him said, "No idea, but whatever it was, it was strong. I'm gonna try and stand again."

Gingerly, he began to move to his feet. The few extra minutes seemed to have helped and he was able to stand. Yusuke also tried it and found that he could move too.

As if on cue, the door to the room opened and a strapping man in a uniform with shoulder patches that depicted a three-headed dog stood framed in it. His manner was brusque and efficient as he said, "You two come with me."

There was an authority in his tone that suggested any attempt at escape would be pointless and he followed behind the young pair and directed their movements, so that if they tried to run, he'd have a clear shot at both of them with the odd weapon he had in his belt. They found themselves winding through a complex series of hallways before arriving at a door marked "Elizabet Drachenwald. Director. Intelligence and Observation." The guard knocked and a strong voice called out for them to enter.

Zakki found himself face to face with the blonde woman who'd accosted him and Yusuke when they'd first snuck in. Her blue gaze was appraising but not entirely cold as she examined both of the youths. She gestured to the guard and he left the room. As soon as the door was shut, she pointed to the chairs that sat in front of her desk.

"Please take a seat, boys. As you probably noticed, my name is Elizabet Drachenwald and I'm Director of Intelligence and Observation for Cerberus Corporation. I think you and I have a few things to discuss."

Before she could continue, Zakki's emerald eyes flashed with anger as he cut her off.

"We sure do. We can start with the fact that you drugged us and held us illegally! We could go to the cops with this."

The powerfully-built woman merely sighed and said, "In case you'd forgotten, you two were trespassing on private property. Who are the police likely to believe? An influential corporation or two street kids? Besides, the drug we used won't leave any trace in your bloodstreams. Now shut up and listen like good little boys."

She leaned back in her chair and continued, "Normally we'd just call the cops and have your asses hauled out of here, but it seems that you aren't just any trespassers. You're trespassers who have something that Cerberus is most interested in. Do you know to what I'm referring?"

Yusuke spoke up first in a quiet voice.

"You mean the p-powers we have right?"

Elizabet smiled and replied, "That, young man, is correct. You two are what we call 'potentiated humans'."

There was some spark of curiosity in Zakki's eyes despite the anger that seized him and moved him to say, "Is this any way to treat people who have what you're looking for?"

The valkyrie who reposed on the other side of the desk grinned briefly and said, "Just because you have a small spark of the power we're interested in doesn't mean that you aren't going to cause trouble for us. We're merely taking precautions with you right now. Prove that you're trustworthy and things can change for you."

She went on.

"I can either call the cops right now and you'll be trapped in the system for as long as we want you to be trapped or you can stay here and become part of something that could alter the fabric of the world."

She added, "If you do stay, you'll have to abide by our rules. If you don't abide by our rules, well, let's just say we have plenty of _experiments_ that need test subjects."

A shiver ran through Zakki at the emphasis and he looked across at Yusuke and said, "You won't harm us if we agree to join you and do as we're told?"

Elizabet smiled a little more warmly and answered, "That is correct, Shihara-san. I don't think you would've broken in here unless you wanted to learn more about who you are, what you can do and what's been attacking you."

She raised an eyebrow and said, "Something _has_ been attacking you right?"

In his surprise, the lean young man forgot to ask how she knew his last name, but he did stammer, "H-How did you know?"

The Director replied, "One of the reasons for the existence of Cerberus is the fight against such beings. We call them Titans*. They prey on potentiated humans in particular."

Zakki sighed and said, "I can't see that we've got a lot of choice here. You're right that we want to know more about who we are. You're right that we'd like to fight those…Titans, was it? We just haven't got any way of being able to trust you."

Elizabet said, "Just as we have no way of being able to trust you. This isn't about trust right now. This is about you deciding if I call the cops or not."

The emerald-eyed youth across from her shook his head and said, "We'll sign on with you. I think both of us want to know about all of this way too much, right, Yusuke? Besides I can do without spending years in jail on trumped-up charges."

Yusuke nodded his agreement and tried to smile.

The strapping blonde woman said, "That would be a wise choice. I'll give you two your contracts to sign now. After that, we'll get you into the Academy for Prodigal Youth and you can begin your training. After your basic training is complete, you'll each be assigned to a department, depending on what aptitudes you show."

Reaching into her desk, she withdrew two contracts, setting one in front of each of the youths. Zakki tried to read his contract but the legalese stymied him after a few minutes and Yusuke didn't even bother. It wasn't as though they were able to say no to anything in the contract even if they did understand what it said. Both signed and Elizabet Drachenwald took the contracts. Her voice was oddly welcoming as she said, "You'll discover that you made the right decision. I'll have an agent take you to your quarters in the Academy. Welcome to Cerberus Corporation!"

After locking the contracts away, the Director hit a button on her desk, depressing it for a few seconds. A moment later a young agent bustled into the room. He said, "What may I do for you, Director Drachenwald?"

The powerful woman gestured to Zakki and Yusuke. She said, "These two are going to the Academy. Find them some quarters and get them briefed by the Director of APY. Report back here when you're done."

The young agent saluted and motioned for the new "recruits" to follow him. He didn't speak at all as he lead them through a confusing maze of corridors that eventually ended up outside a large office door. The man knocked and a strong voice came through it bidding him entry. The agent stood in the doorway and said, "Director Yoshimura, these are new students for you, Director Drachenwald sent them."

Yoshimura stood and bowed as he said, "Hello. My name is Yoshimura. Yoshimura Akio."

Zakki couldn't help but stare a little. Akio Yoshimura was a very attractive man. His features were handsome and well-formed, he had broad shoulders and a strong-looking frame that filled his expensively tailored suit perfectly. The way he carried himself indicated extreme self-confidence that bordered on arrogance.

The angularly constructed young man regained his composure, motioned for Yusuke to bow as he did and then responded, slightly nervously.

"My name is Shihara Zakki. My young friend is Morimoto Yusuke. Pleased to meet you, Yoshimura-sensei."

Yamane flashed a brilliant smile at them and spoke charmingly.

"Not to worry, Shihara-san. I am at your service. I'll explain what exactly you'll be doing here and what you can expect. After that, I think we'll get you two settled in your quarters.

Pointing out two chairs for the pair to sit in, Yamane began speaking in a friendly, but still serious tone, after he settled himself behind his desk.

"I am the head of the Academy for Prodigal Youth. As such, I'm responsible for the training and development of future agents. It is my duty to ensure that every potentiated youth who joins us is given all of the tools needed to succeed as a field agent." Pausing to make sure he still had their attention, Yamane continued.

"You will start attending basic classes tomorrow. We teach all of the usual topics that you'd find in a quality educational system, but we do add some very specific classes that will help you to enhance your powers and abilities as potentiated humans. Those classes will allow you to become agents even as you study your academic subjects. Some people develop their skills more quickly than others, so the timing varies."

He continued, "When your skills are determined to be adequate, you'll start as junior agents and, at that point, there will be some testing and assessment of your abilities before we assign you to specific departments."

After ascertaining that there were no questions for him, the well-built man ushered Zakki and Yusuke out of his office and lead them down a confusing series of corridors. He stopped in front of a plain metal door and opened it to reveal a sparsely furnished room with two metal framed beds and a space to hang a few clothes.

Yoshimura swept his arm around the room and turned to face Zakki and Yusuke.

"Welcome to your new home. The showers are down the hall to the right. Please, please avail yourself of them. I expect a certain standard of appearance, you know. My impeccable taste in clothing and my looks are quite important to me. You ought to aspire to such standards too."

With a quick bow, the man exited and shut the door behind him. Zakki went and folded himself onto his narrow bed and glanced across at Yusuke, suddenly exhausted as he lay down. He said, "Well, here we are. I wonder what's in store for us here?

Yusuke shrugged and smiled a tired smile that still possessed enthusiasm as he replied, "I guess we'll start to learn all about the unseen world! I can't wait."

Sleep would soon overtake Zakki but he privately wondered if they hadn't let themselves into something that they'd never get out of alive. He sighed but answered, "I just wonder what those lessons will be?"


	8. Chapter 8: Cerberus Corporation

The last hill was too much for him. Zakki's long legs burned and his heart thudded heavily in his chest. He came to a halt with sweat dripping from his long bangs into his eyes. The young man took several deep gasps of fresh air. He tried to stretch his aching muscles as he stood, panting, after his five-mile jog. The cool morning air made him shiver slightly as the sweat cooled on his pale skin. This was his second day on the basic training regime that Cerberus imposed on new recruits.

The trainer behind him barked at him to move again. The young man sighed and began dragging his exhausted legs through their paces again. Every muscle in his body twitched and throbbed. He tried not to resent Cerberus Corporation for the pain that they were inflicting on him. He _had _signed up for all of this after all. Zakki had to reminded himself that this was all part of gaining mastery over his strange abilities.

The last ten minutes of his run were agonizing. The slow burn of lactic acid in his muscles was an unfamiliar feeling, so the skinny youth had limped into Cerberus, dragged his way to the next training location and collapsed on the nearest bench. His numb brain had a difficult time understanding what he was meant to do next but several sips of water from his water bottle made things a little clearer.

Every part of him felt leaden as he entered the training area. He knew that all of this was designed to toughen him up. The physical effects were obvious and the relentless flow from one exercise to another also pushed his mind hard. Psychological toughness was as important as physical fitness for agents of Cerberus Corporation.

A bundle of three knives lay on the table. A voice emanating from a hidden speaker instructed him to pick up one of the knives. He hefted it in his hand. It wasn't heavy and it had a fine balance. The tinny voice rang out again.

"Adopt the stance you have been shown on the screen in front of you. Throw the knife at the target that faces you in the manner that was illustrated."

The screen retracted back into the ceiling. Zakki adopted the throwing stance as illustrated in the diagram. The skinny young man threw the knife in the manner he'd been shown, but it clattered to the floor uselessly.

The tinny voice filled the sparse concrete room once again. It barked, "Insufficient effort. Repeat it. Look where you want the knife to go. Put more power in your wrist. You aren't leaving here until you get this right."

The androgynous young man set his angular jaw. He'd never given up on anything before, so these bastards wouldn't make him quite either. Zakki moved into the throwing stance, concentrating deeply on the target facing him and threw the knife in the motion he'd been shown.

The blade rotated elegantly through the air and embedded itself in the lower half of the target with a thud. Zakki tried to disguise the smile on his face. At least he'd hit something this time.

The voice from the speaker was stern as it said, "Do not smile. You have no reason to smile. You will do this thirty more times today. Each miss adds another five repetitions. You WILL improve. Cerberus does not tolerate failure."

Zakki wanted to shout at the voice and tell it that he was tired, that his legs hurt, and that he couldn't concentrate. He wanted to try and leave this cold, dank room but the door would remain firmly locked until he'd done what he was ordered to do.

The next hour was filled with pain and barked orders. Zakki had finally completed the target training as evidenced by the door clicking open.

The young man stood rubbing his aching wrists as the hidden voice rang out again.

"This exercise is complete. You will now report to the gym for the next phase of training."

A look of despair filled the pale youth's emerald eyes, but he remained stern and silent. He just limped painfully from the room and moved slowly down the long hallway that seemed to stretch away forever. After what seemed like ages, he reached the gym.

Another muscle-bound trainer was waiting for him with a grin on his hard face. He said,

"You are the latest weakling they've sent me huh? You sure are a scrawny one but we'll work you into shape!"

His nameless trainer ordered him to lie down. The powerful man grabbed his ankles and demanded that Zakki begin to do sit-ups. The young man felt his tired body tremble with effort as he started. The pain was searing for his exhausted muscles. The giant had simply told him to quit whining when he groaned in agony.

Fifty sit-ups later he'd been allowed to stop. The burly trainer had ordered him to begin doing push-ups. After that, things blurred. One exercise faded into another. The end came after what seemed like years. Zakki had slowly hobbled from the gym with the trainer laughing at him.

He felt utterly dead, his brain was empty, and his muscles and joints screamed at him. He'd managed to take a hot shower. That was the most pleasure he'd had all day. He'd made his way back to his quarters. Yusuke hadn't even bothered to ask what had happened. He'd just let Zakki collapse onto his bed without a comment.

The tall youth's eyes fluttered shut. Darkness rose up. He let it embrace him.

The simple metal cot creaked as Zakki lay on it. The room was cool and dark, but totally devoid of any character. Distantly echoing footsteps resounded down the long hallways and Zakki could hear serious voices bouncing off of the hard bloodstone walls. His new home didn't feel much like a home. Everything at Cerberus was hard, cold and unyielding. There was no sense of comfort or relaxation to be found.

The slim young man had wanted to learn more about his strange experiences, but now he was questioning his choice. He already felt that the place was reeking of secrets that were better left alone. It was true that he hadn't been there for long enough to form real impressions, but so far he wasn't settled by it.

He had discovered the secrecy when he had to sign some of the other contracts that were required. There were several clauses that essentially said that if any information about Cerberus was leaked, the consequence would be severe legal action. Judging by Director Drachenwald's comments about experiments, he knew that the punishment wouldn't be strictly judicial.

The last few days had moved quickly. Yoshimura had been a man of his word and set up classes for Yusuke and Zakki. They'd be taking remedial courses along with their regular lessons to catch up with what they'd missed in their time away from school. The one thing that the pale youth could say with certainty was that the teachers here were the best that he'd ever had.

It was the training for the _other _aspects of Cerberus Corporation that was most difficult for Zakki. He could feel all of the aches in his body and the dull throbbing in his head that had come from the day's previous basic training. He was **not **used to that kind of activity but he knew that they were trying to build him into an agent that would be effective. It was just awful to be broken down on the way.

Glancing up, the elegant young man noticed a moth battering itself against the ceiling light. AIt was another from the living world outside that was trapped in this dead place. The way it threw itself against the light was like Zakki's mind struggling with the way he felt about his decision to join Cerberus Corporation. All of his latest experiences told him that he had to be here, he had to understand and fight back against the shadowy threat to his world, but something about the menace of this place warned him that in doing so he might be sacrificing a part of his soul to something that would alter it irretrievably. Right now, however, he didn't really have enough data to substantiate his fears, so he flipped open the book he'd been trying to read and started in again. Sometimes it was better not to think too deeply.


	9. Chapter 9: Interlude - Vengeance

The pretty, petite girl's green eyes flicked across the information contained on a thin LCD screen rapidly before she smiled. That smile on her beautiful lips was merely muscle movement without any emotion behind it. The young man with thick glasses that stood behind her flinched involuntarily as he inquired, "Is the information our program has gathered satisfactory to your needs, Ishikawa-san?"

Slowly the beautiful young woman turned to face him. There was a blazing light in her eyes as she spoke in a soft voice. She said, "If by satisfactory, you mean completely pointless, then yes. I pay you nerds to actually get me useful information. I coulda figured this stuff out for myself, dorkface!"

The man blanched and answered, "Well, we're still perfecting the system, Ishikawa-san. If you just give us a little more time."

A girlish giggle erupted from her lips as she said, "You want more time? Silly nerd boy wants more time?"

The researcher stammered, "Y-yes. We only need a few more w-weeks to completely work the bugs out."

The perfect face abruptly turned stormy and the young woman's emerald eyes were like pyres as she shouted, "No. No. No. No! You get no more time! I asked for something and I expected to get it."

Abruptly the young man fell to his knees screaming. He began to thrash around spasmodically as blood poured from his ears and his screams turned into weak mewling and finally fell silent as he lay in a pool of black blood. The pretty, innocent-looking girl stood over him and said, "No one disappoints Emily."

The screams of her former researcher had attracted the attention of the guards stationed outside of the room and they came rushing in. Emily pointed at the corpse and said, "Get him out of here and clean up that blood! I hate it when people bleed all over my nice clean floor."

Now the delicate looking young woman began to pout. She was in a foul mood since she'd lost track of Zakki Shihara. She'd been so close to having him in her grasp, him and the kid with him, but the damn meddling Death God had put paid to that plan. Her second near miss had happened when Zakki disappeared into Cerberus Corporation. Her so-called team of hackers and researchers had promised they'd be able to break into Cerberus' servers and get her the information that she needed on Zakki and how to find him. Clearly they were failing and it made her angry.

The pale girl's swift footsteps carried her, ghost-like, out of the room and down the hallways of the ancient house. Sleep was a pointless exercise for Emily. She kept her staff awake in rotations because night was the best time to plan and set events into motion for the young woman at the head of Ishikawa Industries Inc.

After a headlong rush through the confusing corridors of her transplanted castle, she entered her bedroom and slammed the gigantic oak door behind her with a nonchalant flick of her mind. The young woman carefully settled her black silk dress around her as she sat cross-legged on the bed. All of her formidable will began to bend itself in the direction of Zakki Shihara. If the hackers couldn't do anything for her, she'd just have to take matters into her own hands. Her father had always quoted the cliché about having to do things oneself if they were to be done properly. Now was her chance to put the old prick's adage to the test.

Despite seemingly being a child, the pretty waif could also focus every ounce of her considerable ability to one task at the exclusion of all else. Her mind could expand to encompass half of Tokyo and sift through massive amounts of data. She hated doing it because of the physical toll but clearly hiring people wasn't cutting it. She'd just have to sleep for a few days when she was done to make up for the loss of energy she was about to face. It would have to be worth all of the effort or she'd find someone else on her staff to destroy.


	10. Chapter 10: Experimentation

Elizabet Drachenwald was not a happy woman. The Director of I + O was facing Yoshimura across his desk and staring into his cool dark eyes with fury in her own blue pupils as she shouted, "We just recruited the kid and you want to experiment on him?! What kind of sick bastard are you? He hasn't even finished his training yet and you want him end up in the goddamn Annex?"

Yoshimura was used to Drachenwald's outbursts and he took them in stride. He knew how to placate her and he said, "We will be extremely careful with what we're going to do. I promise you that he will not be harmed. He just has an observable telepathic ability and we'd like to see if we can boost it. The drug we're using is perfectly safe. We'll give him a mild dose and check the effects."

Elizabet's tone of voice had come down but she was still fuming as she said, "You assigned both of those boys to to me. You made them my responsibility and now you're telling me that you've decided, in fact, that one of them isn't my responsibility because you and the guys in R + D want to try out one of your wonder drugs? I am getting a tad irritated with the meddling you seem to indulge in when it suits your purposes."

The Chairman continued to remain maddeningly calm as he replied, "This drug has been trialed on others. There have been almost no side effects other than extreme fatigue, but we'll be able to control that factor. We could potentially have a very useful agent in young Yusuke. Wouldn't you like to develop him to his full potential?"

In spite of herself, Elizabet had to concede that Yoshimura had a point. Intelligence and Observation could do with a telepath of high calibre. She flipped open the report that was sitting on the desk in front of her and read the test results. She raised an eyebrow and said, "You're right, Chairman. These are quite the results for someone untrained. However, if we're going to do this, I am going to sign off on every phase of the testing. We'll start off with one short session and **if **it goes well, I'll consider allowing more experimentation. Are we agreed?"

Yoshimura folded his hands and said, "I accept your terms. We're agreed. I'll be pulling him out of a class so that we can begin. He'll make up for it, don't worry."

Drachenwald said, "See that he does. I'm not sure why you talk me into this stuff but you do. Let me know when the trial takes place and I'll make time to be there."

The classroom in which Yusuke sat was full of the energetic chatter of teenagers like any other middle school classroom in the world. Of course, most of these kids had unspeakable and terrifying powers, but they were still like teens everywhere. The two girls next to him were giggling and whispering amongst themselves while glancing in his direction. A blush crept over his cheeks when one of them glanced at him and he looked away quickly.

The teenager was enjoying his classes lately. He'd made some good friends and the girls were starting to pay attention to him. He even liked his teachers. Right now, he was in Richard Griffon-Jones' English class. Richard was one of the younger teachers and he had grown on Yusuke, so the moon-faced boy enjoyed being there. He finally felt like there was a place where he could fit in.

The young boy's train of thought was interrupted. A knock sounded on the classroom door and Richard got up to open it. A tall man in a lab coat was silhouetted in the doorway for a moment before he stepped over to Richard's desk. He conferred quietly with the teacher and Richard turned to look atYusuke. There was surprise written on his face as he called Yusuke over and said, "Yusuke, please come here. I need to talk to you about something."

The seriousness in Richard's tone was unmistakable. Yusuke felt his stomach sink as he remembered that same tone in his father's voice right before he ended up being thrown out of the house. With his heart thudding in his chest, the boy got up and walked over to the teacher's desk.

The man in the lab coat watched him intensely and the sense of being examined did little to dispel Yusuke's sense of foreboding. He came to a halt, standing next to Richard and looked inquiringly at his teacher.

The fresh-faced, redheaded teacher looked serious as he said, "Yusuke, this man is with research and development. It seems that you have been selected for clinical trials based on some of the testing we've done on you."

Yusuke swallowed hard and said, ""Clinical trials? Mr. Griffon-Jones, what's going on?"

Richard placed a reassuring hand on his thin shoulder as he said, "It isn't anything to worry about, Yusuke. They're just going to test you to see if they can enhance the abilities you've started to demonstrate. I don't think you'll be in any danger. Please go with Dr. Ueno. You can make up your lesson later."

The researcher nodded solemnly at RIchard. He beckoned for Yusuke to follow him and turned quickly on his heel. The teenager tried to keep up with the man, but he nearly had to jog to stay in touch with him and his long strides.

The man glanced coolly at the young boy and spoke in a dispassionate tone. He said, ""You are a relatively new recruit to Cerberus but you're showing a high level of telepathic ability already. This makes you an ideal candidate for our purposes. You're doing your fellow Cerberus agents a service by participating in this trial."

The teenager stared up at him with wide eyes. No one had ever warned him that this was a possibility, but Cerberus seemed to do whatever they felt like doing. In spite of himself, Yusuke had to know what exactly was happening. He asked, "Can you tell me what sort of thing it's a trial for? I mean, like, what will you be testing?"

Ueno said, "We have developed a new drug that appears to enhance the ability of potentiated humans with telepathic skills to sense thoughts over a wide area. You are a good candidate to test it on."

They wound their way through the maze that constituted Cerberus' underwater Tokyo Bay facility and eventually passed under the sign for the research and development department. The air here smelled vaguely chemical and Yusuke noticed people strapped to tables or hooked up to machinery through the glass windows of the labs. This did nothing to allay the fears he was having about being here.

They reached an enclosed area and the teenager was ushered inside as Ueno shut the door. He handed Yusuke a hospital gown and instructed him to step behind a metal partition and change into it. Nothing about any part of this procedure was reassuring in any way. When he stepped out, the doctor pointed to a large mechanized chair and told his young charge to sit in it. It's metallic surface was covered with a network of different sizes of tubing and it had restraint belts attached to it.

Ueno said, "Try to relax now, Morimoto-san. I'll hook you up. You may feel some discomfort when we insert the tubes but I assure you it will not last."

Yusuke thought _I'll just relax while you shove tubes into me because I find being injected with strange drugs so calming._

He shrugged and plopped down in the chair that surrounded him like a malevolent nest of insect legs. The researcher began securing the young boy to the chair with the restraint straps. He tried to breathe slowly and steadily, but his heart was pounding hard. There was a sharp pain as the man found a vein and inserted a needle. The researcher waited until a small amount of blood appeared and then Yusuke felt the needle retract. The plastic sheath around it remained in his arm and Ueno connected a tube to it.

The doctor said, "We'll use an intravenous drip to introduce the drug into your body. That way we can vary the amount as necessary. Try not to worry. We won't let anything serious happen to you."

The way Ueno said this was free of any emotion. It sounded like someone reading a script without any real conviction about what he was reading and it didn't calm the boy at all.

A few minutes later, Yusuke's whole body started to feel incredibly light. His skin tingled with a thousand pins and needles and his head swam. The next thing he saw was a bright starburst of light. Before he could brace himself, a cacophony of voices exploded in his mind and Yusuke glanced around wildly, struck by the intensity of it all.

The voices were all different. There were snippets of child-like words, deep expressions of anguish and warm

wells of love. The teenager couldn't separate the different people at first, so all he experienced was a gigantic wall of thought overwhelming him.

He heard the deep voice of the researcher cutting through the haze. The man was asking him to concentrate on his voice as he said, "You need to pay attention to my voice, Morimoto-san. Please tell me what you are experiencing. I am monitoring your vital signs but verbal confirmation of the drug's effects is crucial to this experiment's success."

The boy started to talk in a voice seemed unnatural to him. It sounded like it was coming from the far end of a tunnel. He had difficulty connecting words and ideas but he knew that he had to try. He said, "I..feel as though I'm floating. I hear all of these voices! I think they're people's thoughts. It's like static on a radio now that I'm listening to you but when I concentrate I hear them again!"

Ueno scribbled away in his notebook. Each movement of the pen left a glowing trail in the air across Yusuke's vision. He said, ""I want you to find one of those voices and focus on it. Concentrate hard and tell me more about it. This is all valuable data."

His whole body was relaxed now and the drug seemed to induce a mild euphoria, so he unclenched his fists and felt a smile cross his lips. Eventually he got his brain to focus and latched onto the voice of a boy only slightly younger than him. It seemed like a safe thing to do, so Yusuke concentrated harder. All of the other voices around him disappeared and he heard a single voice. The more he listened, the less he liked what he was hearing, but it was too late to stop concentrating now.

The boy was seething with an anger that was shot through with deep sadness. Yusuke knew that the kid was in trouble almost at boy was trapped somewhere dark and terrifying. Panic seized the teenager's gut as the boy's own panic invaded his mind.

Yusuke spoke quickly and nervously as the boy's emotions flooded him. He said, "His name is Masato and he's twelve years old. Someone has him locked up in a basement or something. The boy wants to get out but he can't. He's being punished for being a bad son and his father's put him there. We need to stop this before he hurts himself!"

Ueno said, "There is likely no way to pinpoint his location. I am sorry that you had to hear what you heard, but there's nothing that we can do. The drug has already proven its effectiveness and we should terminate this test before you are damaged any more by the psychological effects of what you've discovered."

The doctor added, "The thoughts may be imagined as well. You may not have heard anything connected to the real, but I am going to sedate you now to give your mind a chance to recover. Please try to forget about what you heard."

It was the matter of a few moments to change the IV from the experimental drug to a sedative. Yusuke was still disturbed by what he'd heard and he was about to protest when he felt the sedation start to take hold. His mind was whirling but there was little that he could do now. He let the velvet darkness rise and drag him down into its depths.

Somewhere in a dark room, a pair of emerald eyes flared into life. The girl rearranged her black silk dress around her legs and smiled. She'd been lucky enough to have learned Yusuke's psychic signature while he was briefly in her custody and after much effort, she'd found it again. It had been simple to manipulate him and now that she had him hooked, the rest would likely play out as she'd planned, if she knew what sort of a kid he was at all. There was one more thing left to do and then her plan would unfold like a noisome flower. Once again, Emily Ishikawa would have her way.


End file.
